The future of SLR repair (3/3): Is it worth the effort to document service and repairs?

[Andreas Thaler]

At 60 years old, I still remember seeing the SLRs I work on in store windows myself. I was even able to afford one of them, the Minolta X-700, as a student after doing summer piecework at a factory. It was my constant companion for 15 years.

This gives me an emotional connection to the electromechanical SLRs of that era, which drives me to contribute to their preservation.

Professional service is becoming rarer and cannot keep pace with the current resurgence of film photography. Some of these SLRs receive virtually no professional maintenance anymore.

But who will be enthusiastic about these historic 1980s SLRs in ten or twenty years? Will people still be taking photos with them, or will there be new cameras by then? Or is the trend shifting toward solid mechanical SLRs that don’t rely on complex electronics? Or will there be a completely different development?

That’s why I’m wondering if it makes sense to put work into this that may ultimately be irrelevant for the future?

 

[moggi1964]

I think it will always have a value, Andreas.

Even when there are none left there will still be people who will be interested in knowing about the intricacies of how they worked and how they were repaired when they didn't.

I believe you are adding to the knowledge of the generations who are yet to come and would encourage you to continue to do so (while you still have a passion for it).

 

[Andreas Thaler]

I believe you are adding to the knowledge of the generations who are yet to come and would encourage you to continue to do so (while you still have a passion for it).

Thanks. Yeah, I'll try that, but only for certain SLRs. But there are plenty of other SLRs we should document. Or maybe not? I'd like to open this up for a broader discussion. This isn't about me or what I do

 

[lumoStoria]

In our current, rapidly changing times (caused by AI, climate change, economic and political instabilities) it is almost impossible to look ten or twenty years ahead. Even in the near past, this was very difficult. Imaging someone asked you in 2006 (the year before the first iPhone was presented and the year the widely unknown website "Facebook" dropped the "The" from its name) how life would be twenty years later. At least I didn't imagine this future.

Besides other factors, one important question is: Will there be any new film available in twenty years and will it be affordable for the average Joe? Production of film was on a steep decline in the 2010s. It came back a bit later but never reached near the amounts at its heydays. Probably, also due to certain hypes that brought younger folks into the hobby. But hypes come and go. There might come a time when the demand for film drops under the level where economies of scale no longer work and the films will first become very expensive (even for today's standards) and later disappear.

I don't think that film photography will die because no working cameras exist anymore, there will still be plenty of them. It will be the unavailability of film that will kill the hobby and leave the cameras for the collectors.

In a certain sense, analog camera repair and the preservation of knowledge can be compared to radio repair. While a lot of radios produced in the last 60 years still work it has become quiet on most of the frequency bands. MW is almost dead, a bit of noise on KW, and some stations on UKW. Some countries already shut their UKW frequencies down (in favor of DAB), others plan to do this in the near future. Today, does it make sense to put much effort in documenting how to repair radios and adjust their tuners (an art in itself) if there will be nothing to receive anymore in the near future? Also here, the radios will go to collectors if they look pretty and nostalgic.

This is just the way of the world. Hobbies and technologies come and go. It might be sad for people that know and love these hobbies but in 50 or 100 years noone will care about it because there will be other hobbies noone today can imagine.

To come back to you question: If you have fun writing about camera repairs (means, you have an intrinsic motivation), go ahead. The film photography fellows of today will be very thankful for your contribution. However, don't expect any "eternal" value of this kind of knowledge. It will render itself useless if you just set the time horizon far enough. Hope this doesn't sound too depressing. Fortunately, most of us will not experience this time.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

To come back to you question: If you have fun writing about camera repairs (means, you have an intrinsic motivation), go ahead. The film photography fellows of today will be very thankful for your contribution. However, don't expect any "eternal" value of this kind of knowledge. It will render itself useless if you just set the time horizon far enough. Hope this doesn't sound too depressing. Fortunately, most of us will not experience this time.

I view the near future with much greater optimism.

This may also have to do with the fact that I’ve already lived through several decades and none of the predicted catastrophes have materialized:

the East-West conflict, acid rain destroying forests, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact due to the political transition in the USSR and the resulting domino effect, the ozone hole, COVID, current crises, and irrational politicans. At least from a Western European perspective, the world hasn’t ended, and I don’t expect it to in the near future either. Despite war and madness.

And, getting back to our topic, film didn’t disappear at the start of the millennium due to digital technology; there was simply a shift in dominance between the two media.

During my time on Reddit, I’ve witnessed a strong trend toward film. This also aligns with my personal market observations. There’s no sign of stagnation or decline; business is brisk.

There is only one area where no movement is visible.

While Lukas Fritz, Filmomat, or Matt Bechberger, Reveni Labs, are constantly introducing innovative products for film processing and repair, there is still no manufacturer in sight who is developing new high-quality cameras for film. I don’t understand this, because the know-how hasn’t disappeared, and the cameras don’t need to be developed from scratch.

Until then, those who are interested will have to help themselves. After all, affordable, high-quality SLRs from the past—which you could simply replace if damaged—won’t be around forever. Repair—DIY—is therefore becoming increasingly important.

 

[lumoStoria]

My argument was not that the world will end soon but that technologies are replaced by other technologies and fade into obscurity over time .

 

[TheHans]

I view the near future with much greater optimism.

This may also have to do with the fact that I’ve already lived through several decades and none of the predicted catastrophes have materialized:

the East-West conflict, acid rain destroying forests, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact due to the political transition in the USSR and the resulting domino effect, the ozone hole, COVID, current crises, and irrational politicans. At least from a Western European perspective, the world hasn’t ended, and I don’t expect it to in the near future either. Despite war and madness.

And, getting back to our topic, film didn’t disappear at the start of the millennium due to digital technology; there was simply a shift in dominance between the two media.

During my time on Reddit, I’ve witnessed a strong trend toward film. This also aligns with my personal market observations. There’s no sign of stagnation or decline; business is brisk.

There is only one area where no movement is visible.

While Lukas Fritz, Filmomat, or Matt Bechberger, Reveni Labs, are constantly introducing innovative products for film processing and repair, there is still no manufacturer in sight who is developing new high-quality cameras for film. I don’t understand this, because the know-how hasn’t disappeared, and the cameras don’t need to be developed from scratch.

Until then, those who are interested will have to help themselves. After all, affordable, high-quality SLRs from the past—which you could simply replace if damaged—won’t be around forever. Repair—DIY—is therefore becoming increasingly important.

The nice thing is that there are finally some new film cameras coming out, albeit not many and not higher end. The cheap availability of old SLR's is going to hold that back for quite some time. But at least at the low end, you've got companies like Lomo that are putting new entry level cameras into peoples hands.

When the supply of functional cameras starts to dry up, you're going to see more of a shift toward supporting them and possibly reproducing them. I can foresee the first real resurgence from the business level being parts and restoration work. I'm already seeing some glimmers of this with Bronica parts, where you can get new manufacture dark slides, winder arms, and even a couple types of film back. Heck, you can get brand-new lenses for Nikon AI from Voigtlander, so there is hope for lenses.

But I disagree and think the bigger concern in the long run is going to be film. The reality is that unless you're shooting 35mm or 120 there just aren't any options any longer. Think of all the 8mm movie cameras, or the older land-pack polaroids. And not just the film itself, but the accessibility of the chemicals for processing.

That's one of the reasons I signed up here. I'd love to work on the idea of an open-source camera system, that can be open to DIY or cottage level places. But I'm also only at the level of concept, and not yet ready to do any design work.

 

[Andreas Thaler]

That's one of the reasons I signed up here. I'd love to work on the idea of an open-source camera system, that can be open to DIY or cottage level places. But I'm also only at the level of concept, and not yet ready to do any design work.

Interesting, can you tell more?

 

[BrianShaw]

But I disagree and think the bigger concern in the long run is going to be film. The reality is that unless you're shooting 35mm or 120 there just aren't any options any longer.

4x5...

 

[TheHans]

Interesting, can you tell more?

I can, but probably a topic for a new thread as opposed to sidetracking this one.